As someone whose only firsthand experience with the Star Trek franchise comes by virtue of J.J. Abrams‘ two Trek films, I know I’m in over my head when the topic presents itself. When you mention Trek, you’re referencing (either directly or indirectly) a rich legacy filled with peaks and valleys, genre-defining characters and moments, and an international fanbase that rivals any of pop-culture’s most enduring titles. And yet here I am, with two films under my belt (both of which I enjoyed), talking about it. Obviously, I have nothing at stake with regards to Star Trek Into Darkness. Whether you like it or dislike it is of no consequence to me. My only aim today is to extend a humble word of caution to the Trek fans who have years of equity built-up in their beloved franchise: be careful not to dismiss or begrudge it solely because it’s trying to appeal to the largest possible audience. Abrams’ Trek films aren’t above reproach, but they also aren’t void of redeeming qualities. Try to at least acknowledge some of those qualities when tearing into them or risk coming off as someone whose real issue is that a bunch of people now enjoy this thing that you once considered yourself unique for liking.

All preachiness aside, this week’s Top 5 includes several interviews from Star Trek Into Darkness, rumors surrounding Christopher Nolan being approached to direct James Bond 24, the first trailers for Marvel’s new ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a new trailer for Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, and new photos and a video from the set of director Jose Padilha‘s RoboCop remake. If I haven’t lost you yet, a brief recap and link to each of the above can be found after the jump.

Star Trek is not iconography.  There are plenty of iconic moments, inside jokes, winks, nods, and more, but it all stems from an original story starring fleshed-out characters who answered the call of duty and the call of adventure in equal and enthusiastic measure.  Director J.J. Abrams only sees iconography, but it was enough to get him through 2009′s reboot.  The story was barely patched together, still filled with holes, and wrapped in coincidences, but Abrams’ talent as a director managed to bring the story and characters to life in a way that felt fresh and exciting.  Much like his take on Captain Kirk, it was slapdash, occasionally clever, frantic, and charming.  Unfortunately, a flashy smile and big set pieces can’t save Abrams a second time as his follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness, amplifies the shortcomings of his original effort, and removes the joy as the picture stumbles around looking for character arcs, themes, and a compelling, well-constructed plot.  But its greatest embarrassment is in trying to steal classic Star Trek moments without having a clue as to why those moments had meaning.

With Star Trek Into Darkness opening around the world, I recently landed an exclusive interview with Simon Pegg.  While we’d planned for an in-depth video interview in Los Angeles, his busy shooting schedule for his next movie turned our interview into an email exchange.  Since we covered so many different subjects, I’m breaking it up into two or three parts, and we’re starting with Trek.

During our interview, Pegg talked about finally being able to speak openly about the sequel, if he felt any additional pressure playing Scotty in the sequel, his preparation process, what it was like working on the huge practical sets, filming the bridge scenes first, lens flares, what he took home from set, who broke character the most on camera, what he remembers most about making both films, voicing the video game, deleted scenes, Trek 3, and more.  Finally, Pegg sent over a video he made on set with Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchin using the Bad Robot’s Action Movie app.  You can watch it when he brings it up during the interview.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

While everyone associates Bad Robot with J.J. Abrams, he actually has a producing partner that rarely does press and usually stays out of the limelight: Bryan Burk.  If you look over his IMDb profile, you’ll see he’s tremendously involved in all Bad Robot productions and was a key component in both Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness.

With the movie getting ready to premiere around the world, I recently landed an exclusive interview with the busy producer.  During our wide-ranging interview, we talked about making the sequel, the editing process, the secrecy, the title, if we’ll get Star Trek 3 in less than four years, whether a new Star Trek TV show could happen in the near future, and more.  We also talked about other Bad Robot productions like Star Wars, Mission: Impossible 5, Infinitely Polar Bear,  Person of Interest, Revolution, Alfonso Cuaron‘s pilot Believe, Karl Urban‘s pilot Almost Human, and more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

We’re just days away from the US release of J.J. Abrams’ sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, and to mark the occasion Paramount has released a batch of high-resolution images from the film.  By now, you probably already know whether you’ll be seeking this one out or not, but if you’re a fan of Trek and just can’t wait another 24 hours before seeing the film, this image gallery should appease you for now.  We’ve seen some of these images before, but a few of them are new and all of them are in glorious high-resolution.  If you missed Steve’s spoiler-free video blog review of the film, click here.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve, John Cho, and Bruce Greenwood.  Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D tomorrow, and in both 2D and 3D in traditional theaters on May 16th.

With J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness opening soon around the world, we recently landed an exclusive phone interview with Zoe Saldana.  During the interview, she talked about making the sequel, how nice it is to finally be able to talk about it, whether Klingon or Na’vi is more difficult to master, filming the bridge scenes first, who the biggest joker on set is and who tries hardest to make the cast break on camera, script changes, and so much more.  We also talked about Nina, Out of the Furnace, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.  Hit the jump for what she had to say.

Star Trek Into Darkness also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve.  The film opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.

With Star Trek Into Darkness opening soon around the world, our partners at Omelete recently sat down with Zoe Saldana.  During the interview, she talked about what kind of personal challenges the sequel brought to her character, Uhura’s relationship with Spock, the pressure of playing such an iconic character, the level of humor in the sequel, working with the whole team again, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Star Trek Into Darkness also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve.  The film opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.

Immensely talented filmmaker Edgar Wright sent the internets aflutter last month when he revealed that, in addition to The World’s End, he directed one shot in another summer movie.  Given that’s he’s set to direct Ant-Man for Marvel, many immediately jumped to the conclusion that the answer was Iron Man 3.  That didn’t last long, though, as Wright quickly followed up by confirming that he did not direct anything in the Iron Man sequel.

Well now Wright has finally come out with the answer, and it shouldn’t come as a major surprise given his close professional and personal relationship with Simon Pegg.  The Scott Pilgrim vs The World director revealed an image on Twitter today of him on the set of Star Trek Into Darkness, confirming that he did in fact direct one of the 2120 shots in J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi sequel.  He’s seen standing next to an IMAX camera so one presumes the scene in question is of the IMAX variety, and the surroundings should clue those who’ve seen the film in on which shot is Wright’s.  Hit the jump to take a look, and see Wright’s brief work on the big screen when Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 16th.

With Star Trek Into Darkness opening soon around the world, our partners at Omelete recently sat down with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.  During the interview, they talked about what kind of personal challenges did the sequel bring to them both as actors and to their characters, do they now feel beloved by the Trek community, what’s the sequel about, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Star Trek Into Darkness also stars Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve.  The film opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.

Like they did with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Paramount chose to stagger the release of Star Trek Into Darkness by releasing the film in IMAX before releasing it into theaters.  The IMAX 3D screenings were set for May 15th starting at 8pm, and 2D and 3D screenings were set for the 17th.  Now that all IMAX 3D screenings for May 15th have been sold out, Paramount has decided to say “screw it” to the extra day, and will now release the film on all screens on May 16th.

As a film critic, I will tell you why this is a tad disconcerting.  While press in New York and L.A. have seen the film and released their reviews, critics in other cities such as Atlanta, Boston, and Oklahoma City (these are the ones I can confirm), will not get to see the movie until 9pm Wednesday night.  I’ve been doing this for seven years, and this is the first time the press screening was after the film’s release.  This also means print critics won’t be able to meet their deadlines (I’ll be up until 2am writing my review, and posting it immediately).  This doesn’t mean the film is bad, but Paramount seems seriously worried about critics chiming in.  I will say that several years ago, Universal had a last-minute screening of MacGruber, and that film turned out to be great.  Of course, Star Trek Into Darkness is a much bigger movie.  Hit the jump for the press release.

It’s been four years and loads of secrecy, but J.J. Abrams‘ Star Trek Into Darkness is almost here.  Although I have some apprehension about the picture (especially after early reviews were mixed), it remains one of my most-anticipated of Q2 2013, and I’m eager to see the cast back together again.  Also, Benedict Cumberbatch never disappoints, and judging from the trailers, he may end up stealing the picture.

I’m pleased to announce that we’re giving away five pairs of passes to the Atlanta screening of Star Trek Into Darkness.  Hit the jump to find out how you can see the film for free.  The film also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, and Alice Eve.  Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.

As fans await Star Trek Into Darkness with both excitement and apprehension (early reviews have been mixed), all eyes are on what J.J. Abrams has brought to the latest installment of the rebooted Trek franchise.  To be fair, he has attempted to step up and take the reigns of a major franchise and he also now has Star Wars on the horizon, but it remains to be seen if 2009′s Star Trek was lightning in a bottle, or if the sequel will falter despite the presence of a strong cast and a tremendous-looking performance from Benedict Cumberbatch as the antagonist.

In a recent interview with Star Trek Magazine, Abrams talked about trying to make a Trek film for both the average moviegoer and the die-hard fans, stepping up the villain, if a third film is planned, how he’ll balance directing duties for Star Trek with Star Wars, and more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say, and be sure to pick up the latest issue of Star Trek Magazine for much more on the film.  Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and 3D and 2D on May 17th.

Paramount Pictures has released six clips from director J.J. Abrams’ upcoming sequel Star Trek Into Darkness.  We’ve seen these clips individually before, but now they’re all together in one convenient place.  If you missed any of our recent coverage, be sure to watch Steve’s spoiler-free video blog review of the film, the 3D trailer, three new TV spots that unveil an unmasked Klingon, and the final poster for the film.

Hit the jump to watch all the clips.  The film stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Alice Eve, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D in traditional theaters on May 17th.

Paramount Pictures has released a new 3D trailer for director J.J. Abrams’ sequel Star Trek Into Darkness.  If you happen to have a pair of red/blue 3D glasses handy, then you’re in luck.  If not, well I hope you like slightly blurry images.  This trailer is simply the latest theatrical trailer only refashioned in kinda-3D.  I say kinda-3D because this is far from the quality 3D you’d see in a theater.  Nevertheless, if you happen to have a pair of 3D glasses nearby, go nuts.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Alice Eve, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D in traditional theaters on May 17th.

Paramount Pictures has released yet another new clip from Star Trek Into Darkness.  All of the previous clips have focused on the Enterprise crew in some sort of peril, and this clip is no different as we see Chris Pine’s Kirk and Simon Pegg’s Scotty running into a bit of trouble aboard the Enterprise.  As yesterday’s new poster hinted, Into Darkness will find the film’s characters facing down quite a lot of dangerous and deadly situations, but I’m looking forward to seeing how J.J. Abrams infuses humor into the story as well.

Hit the jump to watch the new clip.  The film stars  Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Alice Eve, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D in traditional theaters on May 17th.